Tag Archives: Ph.D

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If you’ve been reading Heavy Metal Addiction for any length of time then you know that I have this sore spot for cover songs. I’m not sure why I hate covers so much sometimes because there are covers that I like, most from back in the day and/or on tribute records. Anytime I do a current album review and I see a cover song in the tracklisting I get upset. The reason: doing a cover song is the easy way out, at least to me. I would always prefer to hear an original composition by a band rather than a cover song but sometimes a cover song is done extremely well. Sometimes a cover song takes on a life of it’s own and becomes a big hit for a band years after it was done originally by the original band.

“Signs, signs, everywhere signs….” I hate that song. Nothing is worse than hearing Tesla on the radio (which is rare nowadays) and it being ‘Signs’. Tesla have better songs, way better original songs, than their cover of the Five Man Electrical Band‘s #3 hit from 1971 but this cover hit big in 1990 on the album FIVE MAN ACOUSTICAL JAM.

Five Man Electrical Band – ‘Signs’ (1971)

Tesla – ‘Signs’ (1990)

But ‘Signs’ isn’t the only Tesla cover song out there that was a huge hit…..’Little Suzi’ is really a cover of Ph.D.’s ‘Little Susie’s On The Up’ from their 1981 self-titled debut. Watch the video and you’ll remember the time when MTV was new and all the played was British synth-pop & New Wave. I love Tesla’s version of ‘Little Suzi’ and I only realized that it was a cover tune a few years ago when I saw the Ph.D. video on VH-1 Classic late at night.

Ph.D. – ‘Little Susie’s On The Up’ (1981)

Tesla – ‘Little Suzi’ (1986)

So there’s the comparisons…..you decide which is better (Tesla!) and please let me know what you think of the originals…..

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